1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to flow monitoring of oilwater systems and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, it relates to improved apparatus for maintaining continual readout of flowing oil-water systems to maintain precise content.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes several types of flow monitoring apparatus which have been utilized in the past for determining the content of oil and water in production oil well testing procedures and related pipeline conduction wherein oil-water systems may be flowing. Prior methods utilize net oil computers or a related type of net oil analyzer which determine oil and water rates during well testing by utilizing two or three phase separators for subsequent analysis with a capacitance cell. Normally, the capacitance cell is only capable of measuring water content up to about thirty percent, and still further limitations of use are imposed by the degree of continuity of oil present in the system. Capacitance cell output is inherently non-linear and, when other factors contribute, high water contents of fifty percent and over are difficult to measure with any accuracy. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,577 and 3,697,936 illustrate prior art as it relates to particular forms of apparatus for utilizing ultra-sonic energy in flowing fluid systems for determining sonic velocity and related data. Also of interest as a basic, related teaching is a technical article from Instrumentation Technology, September 1970, by E. M. Zacharias and entitled "Sonic Monitor for Solution Analysis".